Fake Heiress Anna Sorokin Sentenced to 4 to 12 years Prison Term

According to AP, Anna Sorokin, the German con artist who passed herself off as a wealthy heiress to swindle banks, hotels and even close friends as she lived out a high-society, Instagram-ready fantasy in New York, was sentenced Thursday to four to 12 years in prison.

Judge Diane Kiesel said Sorokin, 28, had been "blinded by the glitter and glamour of New York City" as she turned to fraud to finance a life she could never afford.
"I am stunned by the depth of the defendant's deception," Kiesel said, adding that she hoped to send a message to Sorokin's internet following "that her behavior is unacceptable."
"Certainly she didn't think about the people she scammed," the judge added.

She was convicted last month on multiple counts of larceny and theft and has been in custody since her October 2017 arrest— time behind bars that will be credited toward her sentence. The judge also ordered Sorokin to pay nearly $200,000 in restitution and a $24,000 fine.

U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement said it will seek to deport Sorokin to Germany following her release from state prison.

Moments before she was sentenced, Sorokin briefly addressed the court, saying, "I apologize forvtge mistakes I made."

Sorokin forged a new identity — Anna Delvey — and defrauded financial institutions and Manhattan celebrities into believing she had a fortune of $67 million (60 million euros) overseas that could cover her jet-setting lifestyle , high-end clothing and lavish hotel stays. She falsely claimed her father was a diplomat or an oil baron and falsified bank records. In fact, her father told New York magazine he's a former trucker who runs a heating-and-cooling business.
She went to great lengths to ensure others paid her way, even as she had "not a cent to her name, as far as we can determine," prosecutor Catherine McCaw said following Sorokin's arrest.
"An ordinary person would just take coach," McCaw told Kiesel at Thursday's hearing. "The defendant did not want an ordinary life, and she was willing to steal in order to get that."
The jury convicted Sorokin of four counts of theft of services, three counts of grand larceny and one count of attempted grand larceny.


McCaw rejected her characterization, saying Sorokin showed "almost no remorse" throughout the proceedings. The prosecutor said Sorokin seemed to revel at the plight of her victims and showed more concern for her attire than the emotions of those she hurt.